Whether it be muddy, gloopy, or messy, we LOVE sensory play at our long daycare centres.

Sensory play is a fundamental part of early childhood development and at our childcare centres, we embrace the mess and magic of sensory trays to create hands-on, engaging experiences for children of all ages.

From the squish of jelly to the crunch of leaves, sensory trays offer children the opportunity to explore textures, sounds, smells, and even tastes in a safe and fun environment.

In this week's blog, we are showcasing how these engaging provocations can support brain development, fine motor skills, and creativity in young children while encouraging holistic development.

The Benefits of Sensory Trays:

• Brain Development: Sensory input helps build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, enhancing memory, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
• Fine Motor Skills: Scooping, pouring, pinching, and grasping all help children strengthen the muscles in their hands and fingers.
• Language Growth: Descriptive words fly around the room as children talk about what they feel, see, and smell.
• Emotional Regulation: Sensory play can be calming and therapeutic, helping children self-regulate and manage big emotions.
• Imaginative Play: With each new tray setup, children create stories, pretend scenarios, and explore their creativity.

At our Grow Early Education centres, our Educators use sensory trays to reflect seasonal themes, cultural learning, and educational topics. Here are just a few we’ve loved recently:

Grow Early Education Dalby:

The children at Grow Early Education Dalby recently enjoyed a bright and colourful Easter-themed “scoop and pour” tray. This tray was part of the centre’s Easter celebrations and provided a fantastic opportunity for children to practice pouring, sorting, and scooping.

Grow Early Education Darling Heights:

The Toddler Classroom were further introduced to literacy concepts as Educators set up an ocean-themed alphabet sensory tray. Children were able to create sandcastle letters as they explored a number of colours and textures, and ocean animals.

Grow Early Education Narre Warren North:

Educators were observing children's play habits within their child-initiated classroom time and discovered that the children were spending a lot of time in the home corner. To further extend on their interests, Educators set up a baking-themed sensory tray that allowed the children to experience utensils and ingredients through their senses.

Grow Early Education Bushland Beach:

As part of the Grow Early Education curriculum exploring dinosaurs, our Educators created an exciting, age-appropriate sensory experience for the Tiny Tots Classroom. The children used paintbrushes to gently dust away sand and uncover hidden dinosaur fossils, just like real palaeontologists! This hands-on activity sparked curiosity, encouraged fine motor skills, and brought the prehistoric world to life.

Grow Early Education Gunnedah:

At Grow Early Education Gunnedah, our Educators thoughtfully build sensory-themed trays based on the children’s interests. Recently, they created a vibrant, ocean-themed sensory tray filled with a variety of textures and shades of blue. This immersive experience allowed the children to explore and learn about the fascinating underwater world through sensory play that stimulates curiosity and imagination.

Sensory play isn’t just fun, it’s foundational. Our Educators love designing trays that are not only exciting for children, but meaningful too. Whether it's a celebration of culture, a holiday event, or an everyday exploration of science and nature, there’s always something new to discover with a sensory tray.

Interested in trying your own tray setup at home? Here are some simple sensory tray ideas to try:

• Ocean Adventure: Blue jelly, shells, toy sea creatures, and seaweed (green spaghetti).
• Construction Site: Crushed Weet-Bix or Coco Pops as “dirt,” trucks, pebbles, and cones.
• Rainbow Rice Art: Layered colourful rice with scoops, funnels, and paintbrushes for mixing and creating.
• Fruit Exploration Tray: Citrus slices, spoons, and bowls of water for squishing and squeezing.

Stay up to date with our centres on Facebook to see what sensory play trays they create next!

• Grow Early Education Bushland Beach
• Grow Early Education Bundaberg North
• Grow Early Education Darling Heights
• Grow Early Education Bridgeman Downs
• Grow Early Education Park Ridge
• Grow Early Education Toowoomba
• Grow Early Education Hervey Bay
• Grow Early Education Maroochydore
• Grow Early Education Dalby
• Grow Early Education Riverton
• Grow Early Education Gunnedah
• Grow Early Education Kelso
• Grow Early Education Nowra Central
• Grow Early Education Narre Warren North
• Grow Early Education Heathmont 
• Grow Early Education Frankston